Adults’ sour note keeps band silent

Tuesday

Mar 12, 2013 at 6:00 AMMar 13, 2013 at 9:11 AM

By Dianne Williamson

Even by the standards of parochial schools, Immaculate Heart of Mary is, in its own words, a “thoroughly Catholic” institution.

Nestled in the shadow of a chapel on monastery grounds, the small school in Harvard begins each day with the Latin Mass. Religion is incorporated throughout the curriculum. The nuns still wear habits, the kids wear uniforms, and the marching band has its very own prayer.

“May my performances show Christ’s strength in me in order to bring joy to thy Immaculate Heart, encouragement to the faithful, and good example for all who see me.”

Unfortunately, no one got to see the IHM Marching Band at Worcester’s St. Patrick’s Parade on Sunday, even though this accomplished group of musicians had been practicing hard for the competitive event.

They pulled out at the last minute after learning that their parade sponsor didn’t march in lockstep with the school’s anti-abortion beliefs. Or, rather, it was the band’s adult director who canceled the performance, as young people are rarely so rigid.

But as is frequently the case in such matters, it’s the kids who had to suffer for the grown-ups’ lack of tolerance.

“The kids were disappointed, but they understood why,” said Peter Mary, the school’s soft-spoken band director. “Standing up for what you believe in is a good American principle, in addition to a Catholic one.”

It’s one thing to stand up for your beliefs, but quite another to impose litmus tests on everyone around you. In this case, Lancaster resident Stephen J. Kerrigan donated $1,000 to pay the band’s costs. The sponsors are assigned to the recipients by the parade committee, which considered Kerrigan a good match because he lives near the school.

Not so much, said the school, when it learned the day before the parade that Kerrigan supports abortion rights. A candidate for lieutenant governor, he’s also a Catholic who attended St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, but that made no difference.

“The truth isn’t always comfortable,” said Brother Mary.

The truth has caused discomfort to the school on other occasions. Brother Mary said the school also had a problem a few years ago because its sponsor for the St. Patrick’ s Parade was the Odd Fellows Home in Worcester, which serves the elderly. According to Brother Mary, the Odd Fellows is supported by the Masons, and “you can’t be a Roman Catholic and a Mason at the same time because its principles are incompatible” with the church.

For his part, Kerrigan said he didn’t learn that his money was no good until he read a newspaper story.

“I was sort of surprised,” he said. “The organizers of the parade did such a great job making it such a wonderful day for the community and families. I feel bad for the kids ... But people make the decisions they feel they need to make, and I respect that. But this should have been about the kids having a wonderful day.”

In addition to his stance on abortion rights, Kerrigan is an openly gay politician. When asked if his sexual orientation may have struck a sour note with the band, he laughed.

“That’s not for me to say,” Kerrigan said.

So I asked Brother Mary. “If he was advocating that lifestyle in a public forum, that would be against our principles,” he said.

This isn’t the first time that a Catholic institution has disassociated itself from a good person because of incompatible principles, and it has every right to do so. But I feel bad for the kids, too, because the world is much larger than the school’s narrow boundaries, and they’re not learning how to live in it. And forgive the clichéd question, but I can’t help but wonder: If asked to shun a believer based on such insular bias, what would Jesus do?